Enemy Number One in 2009

I don’t know about you, but my pillow talks to me every night. It doesn’t yell, but it is a crystal clear whisperer. I know…telling you that my pillow talks to me might make you want to stop reading right now, but press on…you may discover that your pillow talks, too.

When I lay down at night, the house is quiet, but my mind is racing. And with a racing mind, my pillow whispers thoughts of how my day went. Sometimes, it shares its thoughts on the joys I experienced. More often, though, it shares with me regrets over my choice of words with my daughter…my tone with my son… missed opportunities.

And there’s often a theme. Like a recurring nightmare, sin themes occupy my one-way conversations with my pillow. Choices that repeat themselves…they mark my parenting. Can you relate to sin themes? Is yours in the front of your mind right now as you read? Good…because we’re declaring it Enemy Number One this year! And it is time for that pesky adversary to die once and for all!

Maybe its anger or passivity. Maybe you’re too demanding of your children, or too slothful. Maybe you don’t consider your children’s opinions or feelings…maybe you consider them so much you desire for them to like you more than you desire to lead them. Maybe it’s one of another hundred other options. Whatever it is, consider taking these steps in 2009.

- Call it out to the school yard for a fight. In other words, let the world know that you’re fighting it…invite friends to circle around you as you fight it. Let them know what the issue is, when it usually peeks its ugly head, and specifically how you sin when it does. Don’t keep it a secret or whisper nasty things about it. Open your lungs and declare war on it.

- Tell your children about the war. Even if they’re little, your children are probably familiar with this area of sin in your life. They know when it is being poured out on them…they can serve as early detectors of it. Help them do it, too. Confronting a parent on their sin can be a scary thing. So, provide them with “safe” words to highlight your sin. Mutually agreed upon words outside of conflict can be a great tool in the midst of conflict.

- Run a recon mission regularly. Check with those around you to see how the war is going. And fight the stealthy enemy of self-defense. Don’t excuse or explain away their observations…embrace them and make tactical adjustments according to the input you receive.

- Show no mercy! Your Enemy Number One will have no mercy on you…it seeks to destroy you. So, have no mercy on it. When it is down and groggy from the last strike, deal it a death blow. When it pleads for mercy, grant it none.

Like a good soldier fighting a good fight, when you go to sleep at night your pillow will whisper a job well done to you. And when you’re done and victorious listen again to your pillow. It may be letting you know what Enemy Number One for 2010 is going to be.